1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computerized systems for automobiles and other vehicles and more particularly to a vehicle component architecture in which vehicle components are network devices coupled to an in-vehicle network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automobiles play an important role in the lives of millions of people. They provide a mode of transportation which allows people to cover great distances quickly and easily and are a convenience which many people could not do without. For example, many people commute to and from work every day in their automobiles and some may spend an hour or more in traffic each way.
Despite the freedom with which automobiles allow people to move about, the substantial amount of time which people spend in their automobiles may also be an inconvenience. For instance, a person who commutes an hour each way to and from work typically cannot make productive use of that time. That is, time which is spent in the automobile might have instead been spent working, playing or in some other useful manner. Although some people may be able to make use of cellular phones to conduct business from their automobiles, they make up a relatively small percentage of the driving population. Time spent in an automobile is more typically an interruption of the driver's normal activities. The inconvenience and anxiety resulting from this interruption may be magnified by problems such as traffic jams, vehicle malfunctions and driver confusion.
Automobile designers may attempt to lessen the inconvenience of time spent in automobile by making it as comfortable as possible and by providing certain services to the occupants of the vehicle. For example, the ergonomics of the automobile are studied to ensure that it provides both a physically comfortable environment and a user-friendly interface to the automobile's functions. The designers may also incorporate into the vehicle the delivery of services that may assist the driver, thereby reducing the driver's workload and anxiety level. Such services may include providing computerized maps, navigation aids and emergency assistance signaling.
One of the difficulties faced by designers, however, is that the designs for automobiles must be finalized long before the vehicles themselves actually go into production. The designers must therefore anticipate needs which drivers will have several years in the future. Since a typical design cycle for an automobile is four years long, the designers must create an automobile design which is four years ahead of its time. Then, after the automobile is in production, even services which designers may have accurately anticipated may quickly become outdated or obsolete. Because a person may own an automobile for ten years or more, it is not at all unusual for the design of an automobile to be outdated for a substantial portion of its useful life.
While it may be desirable to upgrade the components of automobiles, they are often difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade. The components typically have unique physical and functional characteristics, including their size, shape and interface to the automobile, which prevent them from being replaced with similar, but not identical parts. Further, the replacement of the components can be very labor-intensive, and it is not unusual for the cost of the labor to install the components to be on the same order as the cost of the components themselves. There is therefore no practical way in the prior art for an automobile which is already in production to be upgraded to maintain state-of-the-art components and/or functionality.